Pelosi pushes public option for health care

HEALTH CARE REFORM

Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer

Published 4:00 am, Friday, August 21, 2009

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Image 1of/2

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 2

SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 20: U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gestures as she speaks during a news conference following a roundtable discussion on health care August 20, 2009 at St. James Episcopal Churh in San Francisco, California. Speaker Pelosi met with community and local faith leaders to discuss the importance of health care reform. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) less

SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 20: U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gestures as she speaks during a news conference following a roundtable discussion on health care August 20, 2009 at St. James Episcopal Churh ... more

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Image 2 of 2

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announce the expansion of poverty-fighting services, Monday August 10, 2009, while visiting a Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco, Calif.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announce the expansion of poverty-fighting services, Monday August 10, 2009, while visiting a Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Pelosi pushes public option for health care

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

With the battle over health care reform heating up over the issue of a public insurance option, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the House must pass an overhaul that includes a public option.

The San Francisco Democrat, speaking at a news conference in the city, said health care cooperatives are "not a substitute" for a government-backed alternative.

Pelosi's comments came as the White House has been forced into damage control this week after it appeared the Obama administration might be backing away from a public plan, which would compete with private insurance companies and give consumers an alternative to that coverage.

"I agree with the president when he said a public option was the best way to keep the insurance companies honest, that it would be the best way to increase competition so that we can lower costs, improve quality of care, retain choice and expand coverage," Pelosi said.

A better idea anyone?

"If someone can come up with a better idea, let them put it on the table. But we haven't heard that yet."

Pelosi insisted that President Obama has not retreated from a public option plan and said of health care cooperatives: "If someone thinks that a co-op can work for their state, that's fine. Perhaps that could be included in their legislation. But it is not a substitute for a public option."

Co-op supporters

Supporters of the co-ops say they would be able to provide insurance to members and be controlled by those members, while still providing competition and lower prices.

Obama, speaking Thursday to a national health care forum in Washington, D.C., said a public option is "just one option," although he argued it would give consumers more choice, lower costs and better health care.

"There's been a lot of confusion about this, so let me just clarify. I think a public option is important," he said at the event. "If we have a public option, that can help keep insurers honest; it can provide a benchmark for what an affordable basic plan should look like," while providing more competition that will lower costs.

"I want everybody to be clear that the public option is just one option. It will be voluntary. Nobody is talking about you having to be in the public option," he said. "The only thing that we're talking about is this being available to you as a choice, expanding consumer choice."

Progressive groups and political leaders have stepped up the pressure for health care reform as conservatives have criticized the efforts as a costly expansion of government that could put private insurers out of business and force employers to abandon their current coverage.

S.F.'s model for reform

In San Francisco, national AFL-CIO President John Sweeney appeared with Mayor Gavin Newsom to praise Healthy San Francisco, the city's universal health care program, calling it a model for reform needed nationwide to help America's 46 million uninsured.

Pelosi, at her news conference, cautioned that efforts to scale back or split the health care bill could derail reform efforts, which she called "an opportunity - not of a lifetime but of a century."

"If we don't pass this bill, with all the comprehensive aspects of it now, I don't know when we'll have a chance to do it," she said. "Does that mean that we couldn't improve upon it with future legislation as we see how it is implemented? No. But I think we have to be careful about splitting it off."

Pelosi insisted the legislation will go forward, with or without Republican support.

"The president has said that he wants to have a bipartisan bill," she said. "But we will have a bill."

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.